1. CJ Wilson will NOT return to the Rangers. The Rangers know CJ is not a true Ace, but there will be other teams willing to give him Ace money. While they would like him back, there will be a limit. Real Ace money would be spent on a guy like Sabathia first. But I don't see that happening either.

2. The Rangers will sign Yu Darvish. The Rangers have already been linked to Darvish as a strong candidate to sign him. They also have 2 Japanese pitchers already there in Uehara and Tateyama who make Texas seem like a comfortable situation for Darvish to transition to the MLB with. The Rangers are comfortable with pitching success in the Japanese league translating to MLB. See Colby Lewis. ...and remember, they chased Dice-K too.

3. Neftali Feliz will join the rotation. It's not too late to turn him into a starting pitcher. He'll follow the path of CJ Wilson before him and give up closing duties to fulfill his real destiny.

4. Mike Adams will be the team's new closer. Adams has been one of the better set up men in the game and will finally get his chance to prove that he can get the job done.

5. Alexi Ogando and Scott Feldman will remain in the bullpen, and Tanner Scheppers will join them. The strength of the Rangers bullpen has been the ultimate balancer to their lack of elite pitching. Keeping it strong will be a priority. Look for a key FA signing here too.

6. Michael Young will be traded. He's the highest paid player on the team at $16M per year and that is a ridiculous number for a DH/UTIL player, even if it is the heart and soul of the team.

To give you an idea how expensive he is, here are the Top 10 Rangers salaries:

7. FA candidates to replace Young... I think Josh Willingham 1B/OF/DH stands out as the most attractive fit for the Rangers.

8. Leonys Martin will provide an immediate impact. He'll either be an early season call up or break with the team out of camp and push for playing time at Center Field. The Rangers gave Martin $15.5M dollars, the 2nd most given to a Cuban defector after Aroldis Chapman. If he has a hot preseason, he could be with the team from the start. There are high expectations for Leonys and the Rangers could really use his speed to upgrade their defense at CF as well as getting steals along the base paths.

9. New Rotation and Bullpen
SP1 - Yu Darvish - Darvish will be paid like an Ace, so his role will reflect that.
SP2 -Derek Holland - Holland took a big step forward in his sophomore season and more will be expected.
SP3 - Colby Lewis - Lewis is really a #3 pitcher who has been tasked to be more than that. This is where he should be.
SP4 - Neftali Feliz - Feliz will be eased into the rotation and could have a lot of success being in this spot.
SP5 - Matt Harrison - Keeping this spot warm until Martin Perez is ready.

An interesting move would be if they were to sign Cole Hamels. I think he's either a free agent this year or next year and the Phillies are too cash-strapped to offer him the giant contract he is going to demand.

So f**** close on Thursday night we could actually taste the **** champagne.
Twice.

Imagine the 2007 Packers and 2009 Vikings when Farve threw both away in the NFC Title games at the end, combined with the 2007 Patriots (18-0) at the very end, with the 2008 Arizona Cardinals when they were Santonio Holmed at the end..... that's how bad this one hurt. Throw in a little f*** Scott Norwood, that's the taste and lingering feeling for die-hard Rangers fans.

Most people at my work blamed Ron Washington for Game 6. Others blamed Nellie Cruz for the D+ effort to catch the clincher. It would have been a heckuva catch and taken some ballz going into the wall.
But that was on occasion to do just that. And I know Torri Hunter and Kirby Puckett and Jim Edmunds, they would have made those catches.

Sucks.

Also, I think CJ Wilson may have cost himself millions of $$ by being just a regular arm for 4 weeks when the spotlight was on. He was just a guy, a middle reliever.

I'm feeling mixed on that. I'd rather spend the money on pitching to be honest. Josh is a great asset... but the dude has no fight in him. His natural talent gets him the stats he gets, but if he had an ounce of hunger in his veins, he would be 10 times the player he is.

I'm feeling mixed on that. I'd rather spend the money on pitching to be honest. Josh is a great asset... but the dude has no fight in him. His natural talent gets him the stats he gets, but if he had an ounce of hunger in his veins, he would be 10 times the player he is.

I love Hamilton for many reasons, and the overall numbers he puts up are amazing. He'd be a superhero from last year if they had just finished that game 6 after his extra-inning homer gave them the lead.

But no, it seems the fans have already turned on him with the booing of his meak K's and ground outs last night again. I think he's mentally already gone.

Seeing the big-name additions the Angels had this year, not paying off at all.... I just think the Rangers as you said, would be better off spending the money on pitching, young talent, and guys with heart/fight/something to prove.

I love Hamilton for many reasons, and the overall numbers he puts up are amazing. He'd be a superhero from last year if they had just finished that game 6 after his extra-inning homer gave them the lead.

But no, it seems the fans have already turned on him with the booing of his meak K's and ground outs last night again. I think he's mentally already gone.

Seeing the big-name additions the Angels had this year, not paying off at all.... I just think the Rangers as you said, would be better off spending the money on pitching, young talent, and guys with heart/fight/something to prove.

What a sad fail this season turned out to be jeez.

Yeah, no sense of hunger this year. That's the difference. They thought they would just walk into it without giving any extra effort.

Please, CJ Wilson rolled over twice in the WS last year. And now Josh Hamilton did it this year. I think he knew he was as good as gone, and the team as a whole played their worst baseball at the end of the season. Doesn't help that Ron Washington is a complete 'tard. Some team is gonna throw 175m+ to Hamilton, and i just don't think he's worth that kind of risk.

Please, CJ Wilson rolled over twice in the WS last year. And now Josh Hamilton did it this year. I think he knew he was as good as gone, and the team as a whole played their worst baseball at the end of the season. Doesn't help that Ron Washington is a complete 'tard. Some team is gonna throw 175m+ to Hamilton, and i just don't think he's worth that kind of risk.

Yeah you got a point there about CJ. He melted at the most important time last year. Darvish over CJ was a no brainer.

Where does Hamilton land if not with Texas... should be interesting...